Broken
by Shadow of Stonepack
Summary: It happens to all of us sometimes, with one thing or another. We don't know what we have, until we lose it. Sadly, May had to learn that the hard way... T just to be safe


**Hi people :D **

**I got the idea for something like this last night. :P. YES, I am an Advanceshipper, I just felt like writing something sad. That aside, I don't own Pokemon, or any of Taylor Swift's songs. **

**Also, just to warn you, this contains Pearlshipping.  
**

**Enough of the ranting. Enjoy. :P**

* * *

A lonely Kricketot sang a song in the nippy night. The moon hid behind a thick blanket of clouds, which were looming over the city of Petalburg. The ground outside was wet with dew from the fresh rain earlier. The wind promised more rain to come in the not-too-distant future. To May, the weather almost perfectly mirrored the way she was feeling right now. A few sobs escaped her as she sat up on her bed, her eyes puffy from crying. Her heart was completely shattered inside.

"He's gone now," she whispered, clutching her half of the Terracotta ribbon tightly. "And it's all my fault." Ash had come to visit her in Petalburg, and stayed for three days. Dawn had arrived with him. They'd just left about an hour ago, but it seemed so much shorter than that to May.

During the time May had traveled with Ash, she often had this funny feeling in her chest that she'd never had before. Drew had also managed to stir it again for a time, but it felt... different, somehow. It had faded with time, however, and Ash's had not. She'd figured out that she loved Ash; without a doubt. But because her feelings for Drew were strong at the time, she'd never told him how she felt before they parted ways. She'd been overjoyed when she found out that he was coming to visit: She would tell him her feelings, and maybe, just maybe they'd travel together again, as a couple.

That may just have happened... if only she hadn't been too late.

"Why did I have to be such an idiot?" she sobbed quietly, wiping another bout of tears away. "If I'd just told you before I left... told you three freaking words... maybe things would be different." She looked at a picture that was of her and Ash; being the immature boy he was, he was giving her Buneary ears. She smiled sadly. She was blushing slightly in the picture; something she at one time dearly wished he didn't notice. It didn't matter now. She sucked in air as she remembered what happened earlier, feeling her heart shatter into a thousand pieces all over again.

_Earlier..._

If clouds hadn't been clustered across the sky, it would have been painted with oranges of sunset. May sat on her bed, looking out the window. Rain would come soon. This was Ash's last day here. "If I'm not going to let him get away," she murmured to herself, "I need to tell him. It's now or never." She stood up, holding her half of the Terracotta ribbon in her hand. Ash was training with his Pokemon outside. "Hey Ash?"

Ash looked at her, "yeah, May?" He recalled Staraptor, who was worn out. Pikachu hopped onto his trainer's shoulder.

"Can we talk?" she asked, looking into his eyes hopefully. "There's something I... want to tell you." Excitement and nervousness fluttered in her chest.

"Sure," he said.

She nodded. "Follow me." She went deeper into the meadow. It was beautiful; often she'd come here, just to get lost in her thoughts. She sat down at the crest of the hill, which overlooked a forest. Ash sat down beside her, a bit puzzled. May blushed, and almost chickened out. _NO! I have to tell him now, or I'm going to lose him, _she thought, nearly choking on her words as she thought of Dawn. During the visit, Dawn had made it very apparent that she was in love with Ash, as well. _Maybe forever, and in more ways than one._

"What is it you wanted to tell me, May?" Ash asked. Pikachu, unlike his rather dense trainer, seemed to understand and left.

May looked at the ground, reminding herself, _it's now or never. _Her voice was shaky and uneven as she began. "Ash... I need to tell you something," she murmured, turning to look into his eyes. "...ever since I met you..." she began, unsure of where to start. Ash smiled kindly, encouraging her to go on.

"Without you... I don't know where I'd be." May found herself almost unable to stop her words once she'd started. "Quite honestly, when I started my journey, I didn't like Pokemon at all. I just wanted to travel... and my Pokemon were along for the ride. But... that same day I went to get my starter... I met you. You know when Pikachu fried my bike? Well... I was about ready to tear you to shreds," she giggled a bit. "But... I saw you and Pikachu together, and... well, I don't know. I got this... feeling in my chest for the first time ever in my life." She decided to leave out the fact that Drew had managed to stir it again at one time. "You were always there for my contests, and always had faith in me. You always gave me this feeling. I didn't figure out what it was, for the longest time. But... I realized what it was recently." She fought to not choke on her words again. "Ash... what I'm trying to say is, I love you." She looked back up at him. She felt her heart sinking like a stone when she saw his expression. He was frowning; she didn't know why, but it wasn't a good sign.

"May..." he murmured. There was a tense silence.

_Please... no... Arceus, you can't be this cruel... _May prayed desperately in her mind.

"May..." he repeated, "There was a time that... I felt the same about you."

May felt her heart fall into her shoes. _Not anymore..?.._

"I didn't know what I was feeling for a long time, either." Ash's expression was one of horrible guilt. "But... by the time I figured it out, I could see that you didn't feel the same way about me."

"But I did!" May cried, her eyes glassy from tears that she was struggling to hold in.

"No, May..." he breathed, "you didn't. I could see it in your eyes when you looked at Drew."

May felt like she'd been hit. It was true... she'd been so starstruck by Drew she'd completely ignored Ash. But, it had been a passing infatuation, and nothing more. It had faded fast, and she'd realized that the person she truly loved was Ash.

"I was hurt like you wouldn't believe, but I didn't show it to you all," Ash went on, making May feel even worse. "But... I forced myself to move on. Later on, I met Dawn in Sinnoh." May felt like her heart had been torn in two at that. She could already see where this was going. "She made me feel like you did... But I was afraid to tell her, for fear that she loved someone else, like Paul. Then, one night, she told me she felt the same way."

"So you're together?" she whispered, almost unable to believe it. She had to keep her voice quiet, in fear of letting him know that she was on the verge of crying.

"Yes. I'm sorry, May." He looked at her with sadness for her and guilt evident in his gaze. "But I do want you to know that... I still do care about you. It's just that, my feelings aren't beyond friendship anymore."

_Friendship. _May repeated the word in her mind. It hurt... so much.

"Ash!" May heard Dawn call from behind. It was almost time for them to leave. May wanted to be angry at her... but she couldn't, for some reason.

Ash got up, going over to see his girlfriend. May watched them longingly. She realized that Ash had, indeed, looked at her the same way that he was looking at Dawn, a long time ago. _Why did I have to be so STUPID? _she thought. _You were right there in front of me, the whole time... and my stupid self had to be knocked off my feet by Drew. _At first, she was angry at Ash, for loving someone else. At Dawn, for having him. At Drew, for infatuating and blinding her to what she had.

But, that quickly faded, and the only person she was angry at was herself. _I can't blame anyone else but myself... _She blinked heavily to avoid letting her tears spill out as she watched Ash and Dawn. _I didn't know what I had until I'd lost it._

Later, when they were leaving, they said their goodbyes and headed off. May put on a forced, sad smile, to hide her torn up heart. Pikachu cooed softly to her as he rubbed his head against her hand; he knew exactly what happened, and how she was feeling. He waved goodbye as he bounded towards his trainer, riding on his shoulder as they walked.

May felt her heart lurch as she saw Dawn and Ash holding hands. Though her heart seemed like it couldn't hurt any more, it did. "I didn't know what I had until I lost it," she whispered to herself. Her tears began to stream down her cheeks, as she was unable to hold them in any longer. "Why didn't I just tell you before?" The rain that had been waiting for hours began to fall, leaving May soaked as she trudged back to the house, completely heartbroken.

* * *

She softly sang a song to herself that she'd been listening to since what happened earlier. Coincidentally the boy's name in the song was Drew, but that didn't matter; it fit what she was feeling perfectly. "She better hold him tight, give him all her love, look in those beautiful eyes, and realize she's lucky 'cause he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar..."

She put the picture down, wiping away a few more tears, and clutching the Terracotta ribbon close to her chest. She sat down on her bed, looking at it longingly. It was one of her most treasured things. Ash had the other half... not just of a ribbon, either. Though this half of the ribbon was a half... just like she felt. Incomplete.

That's exactly how she felt. Broken and incomplete.

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**Hope you enjoyed :) NO FLAMES, please.**


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